New York Times reported that out of more than a million 155-millimeter shells the U.S. has delivered or promised to deliver to Ukraine, almost half of them come or will come from stockpiles in the Zionist entity and South Korea.

A senior US official told the paper that out of more than a million 155-millimeter shells the US has delivered or promised to deliver to Ukraine, almost half of them come or will come from stockpiles in ‘Israel’ and South Korea.

Both US and Israeli officials said that half of the 300,000 shells stored in the Zionist entity have already arrived in Europe, and will enter Poland before delivery to Ukraine.

This comes as the US is strained to supply more ammunition to Ukraine, which uses twice the combined production of artillery shells against Russian targets. The deficit has forced the US to search for other sources to arm Ukrainian forces, including tapping into overseas stockpiles, until American manufacturers can scale up production.

“Based on a US request, certain equipment was transferred” to the US Defense Department, an Israeli military spokesman said.

According to the report, the US stockpile in ‘Israel’ originated following the 1973 War, when significant amounts of ammunition were delivered to support the Israeli regime. It was later decided by the US government that the stockpile should remain in Israel permanently in cases of emergencies.

A senior Israeli official said that the move was coordinated between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with then Defense Minister Benny Gantz in a talk the two had. The request was then motioned to Israeli security cabinet and was approved by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Source: Israeli media